A delicately entwined story fulled with mystery and enchantment. The perfect mix of imagination and nostalgia.
The Ring
Tania Roxburgh
Chinese Cinderella
Adeline Yen Mah
Mao's Last Dancer
Li Cunxin
Slide the Corner
Fleur Beale
Abomination
Robert Swindells
Violence 101
Denis Wright
A great novel. Personally, it didn't really jump out at me though.
Owl
Joanna Orwin
The Guardian of the Land
Joanna Orwin
Hatchet
Gary Paulsen
Lethal Deliveries
Ken Benn
The Bone Tiki
David Hair
Fantastic story. Brilliantly written. An amazing combination of (and I quote from the last part of the book) ‘Myth and reality. Maori and Pakeha. Mother and father. New Zealand and Aotearoa. Each part of the other.’
Kura Toa
Tim Tipene
I taught Kura Toa last year to low ability (Level 2 on e-asTTle) Year 9. It’s a great novel.
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
Mark Haddon
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
John Boyne
Read it to my Year 8 class a year or two back. Students obviously need the social science background. Until then, they didn't get the subtle theme. Most ESOL students need the explanation afterwards. I wouldn't bother although it is a good book and not too big.
Great book. Realistic storyline and characters. My year 10's loved it :)
Dream Quake
Elizabeth Knox
Box
Penelope Todd
The Whole of the Moon
Richard Lymposs
Dream Hunter
Elizabeth Knox
Playing For Keeps
Denis Martin
Hideout
Lorraine Orman
Sea Dreamer
Elizabeth Pulford
Sitting On The Fence
Bill Nagelkerke
Duet
David Hill
The Declaration
Gemma Malley
The Secret Countess
Eva Ibbotson
What I Was
Meg Rosoff
Before I Die
Jenny Downham
If I Could Tell You
Tania Roxborogh
Third Degree
Tania Roxborogh
Limelight
Tania Roxborogh
The Ring
Tania Roxborogh
High Tide
Anna MacKenzie
Seeker
William Nicholson
The Wind Singer
William Nicholson
Boy Overboard
Morris Gleitzman
Frog Whistle Mine
Des Hunt
The Hunger Games
The best series of books I have read for young adults in a very, very long time - we are going to be using the first book in the series with a strong year nine group in 2011. Have a look on youtube at the fan-made trailers for the books - incredible how much creativity it has unleashed in young people.
The Project
Brian Falkner
Was a laugh out loud, come here, let me read you this, omg page turning, seat of the pants kind of novel. Falkner gets story. He gets kids (and those who are kids at heart). He is the modern day, upgraded version of Enid Blyton and Nancy Drew. Cough. Right. So, these boys discover a document hidden in a nondescript very old tome which turns out to be very, very important – the document – not the tome. I loved it. Your pre and young teen and yourself will too.
Five Parts Dead
Fantastic short punchy story. The writing is tight. The story compelling. The narrator, Dan, has just survived a fatal car accident. He and his twin sister and parents are on holiday on a rugged island on South Australia’s coast. There are secrets to be uncovered or exposed (both within Dan’s experience and those of the people from the island over 150 years ago.) Ghosts, dreams, memories, connections, the reality of the place – all these are vividly recounted in this un-put-down-able novel. From the author who brought Game as Ned, this fresh and exciting voice for YA fiction is not to be ignored. Boys and girls will love this.
This Way Up
Lindsay Wood
A great ‘fat boy triumphs’ story without being clichéd. Corey is forced to join something extra curricular at school and chooses Orienteering. He thinks it will be ‘like a stroll in the park’. Of course, it wouldn’t be an interesting read if it were. Wood takes us convincingly in the shoes of Corey as he learns (as we do) what Orienteering is really like. Made me want to go join a club. So much fun. Tightly written with convincing characters. I hope Lindsay has more stories up his sleeve. Recommended as class set for upper primary/intermediate, the library or as a gift for the tween in your family.
Into the Wilderness
Mandy Hager
A young girl, our hero, faced with impossible circumstances now must deal with multiple problems. Hagar takes us from one lost hope to another.
Fierce September
Fleur Beale
Picks up immediately from Juno of Tarrisand sends us, along with Juno and her stratum and family, into a whole other adventure which sees them arrive at New Zealand in the not too unimaginable future and coping with the intense prejudice experienced by many immigrants to our land. A terrible pandemic, not seen in the country for years, is now sweeping the land and the people of Tarris are being blamed.
Ebony Hill
Anna Mackenzie
Satisfies us with what happens next. In The Sea Wreck Stranger, we were impressed with Ness’s attitude and skill. This novel puts her in an even more difficult position. Reminiscent of some echoes of our earlier history, we, like Ness, are caught up in the injustice of what is happening to the people who are affected by war and the greed of others.
Timeriders
The plot is clever: In the future, someone created a time travel machine but realised that doing so was a huge mistake and ‘purportedly’ destroys it. Further on in the future, the world is in a state of collapse. Not a happy place to be – even America. A clever scientist goes in search of the machine, finds it, gathers elite troops and ends back to Germany 1944 and convinces Hitler to trust him (don’t invade Russia) and the world as we know it is changed forever.
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